Silver Medallist
by Calico Yorki
Summary: Sometimes, the answers to your problems come from unexpected places. Rated T - Better safe than sorry.


"Hmph!"

Irritated, Yume turned her chair away from the console. No matter what kind of alterations she could make to the design, it would always have a Catch-22. It figured - This kind of thing was inevitable when she tried to do something for the better of others.

Essentially, the device Yume was trying to design was a solar panel array that doubled as a solar shield. She had caught word of an emergency supply company that was continually stymied by the heat of certain suns, as well as their ships running out of energy at unfortunate moments. The solution had seemed simple - A solar panel design that could also protect. Yume knew that similar designs had found respectable success...And she was certain that her design was sound. However, it had a problem she simply couldn't beat by intelligence.

"_Materials_. I always run into problems with the _materials_ exactly when _everything else_ is perfect with my designs for these things," she fumed. To put it simply, the material needed to have a high capability for absorbing energy, but it also required the protective ability to keep any energy from harming organisms inside. Yume had been able to track down the perfect material for the former and the perfect material for the latter - However, both had only one half of the necessary qualities. Both were lightweight - Neither would significantly weigh down the ship, even in double-layers. In the end, the conundrum came down to this: Would the crew die in agony because of the solar heat, or die in agony because of starving when their solar panels couldn't sustain all the systems at once?

Yume crossed her arms and leaned back a bit, staring up at her ceiling...In this particular room, she had put a special ceiling that showed different designs to relax her. At the current time, some kind of viscuous, lime green quasars twisted and danced. Sighing, Yume glanced over at the monitor tiredly..."I'm sure there's _some_ solution...But what?" Her brow furrowed angrily. "I bet _Washu_ would get a kick out of seeing me in this situation." She didn't _mean_ to repeatedly fixate on her rival, but it was hard to simply forget their history.

The two had been the fiercest of rivals for a long time...Their competitions over intellectual superiority were legendary. Yume and Washu had always known during their time at the Academy that, when graduation rolled around, one of them would have to rank higher than the other. But neither had ever thought that the feud would end there. It only added fuel to the fire - Because once they left the Academy, the two had new dimensions of possibilities. At the Academy, they were like lab rodents - Easily forced into a maze, rarely allowed to take their own path, to leave safety of the yellow brick road...But at graduation, it was like they had finally gotten their wings. They were both eagles...Yume and Washu always knew that, as long as they lived, the competition would never really end - Yume felt strangely comforted by that, in a way. However, Yume had a need to prove herself...Yume knew very well she was a genius. Washu knew, as well, as only a rival can understand the other rival. The problem arose with the masses of short-sighted fools who couldn't decide for themselves..._That_ contingent would always see Yume as nothing more than second-best. The _silver medallist_ to Washu Hakubi's gold.

Brooding for another few minutes, Yume turned back to her monitor. Moving her design to a smaller box off aside, she did a bit of searching..."Ah, yes," she smiled dryly. "The glory days." It was just something Yume liked to do when she was having a rough day...Go and look back through her inventions during hers and Washu's Academy Days. The two got into some heated arguments..._But we really bring some good things out of each other,_ Yume contemplated silently. She didn't expect to find any lasting closure...But Yume found that life has a tendency to ignore expectations.

She cocked her head to the side quizzically. "Hm? What's this, now?" It appeared to be a separate file..."'Team Project'? This is odd...I don't seem to recall such a thing." Yume's eyes widened at the date - "I have something saved from when I was a _lowerclassman?_" She gave a chuckle - "I must have had quite a partner to _want_ to remember that part of my life! Though, the Academy always had an odd sense of humor with their pairings..." Yume opened the file, expecting a picture of her and some fool she'd never recognize - But what she saw made her mind totally go blank for a moment, before she slowly started to remember the project.

The picture was of Yume and her partner, standing back-to-back, arms crossed...They were both definitely more freshfaced and wide-eyed, as underclassmen were known for, but there was no way to not recognize _that_ face...Yume read the words below this picture in a monotone: "First place...Prototype dual-purpose vessel shell...'The Ultimate Genius Team', Yume and...Washu." _Now_ she remembered. As underclassmen, Yume and Washu were too busy keeping up with the waves after waves of assignments and avoiding major confrontation to even _think_ about competing with other students...They became rivals in the latter parts of their school years. "Well...Isn't this interesting." It made sense...Even to the point of why she'd forget the project. Who would want to remember _that_ time in school? The real fun came when you had been their long enough to - "Wait, what did it say our winning design was?" Yume clicked on the link to their project. If she hadn't been shocked before, she certainly was now.

"No way...!" What she saw was true, though...Yes...Two layers. The circuitry layout was a little helter-skelter, but Yume could certainly amend such a thing now...The two hadn't exactly had access to a _stellar_ choice of materials, but what Yume had now would do..."_Layering_ the absorbent array over the protective array...I didn't think it could work, but with a tweaked version of this layout, and fine-tuned circuitry...Yes, it _can _be done!" Yume's face lit up. Her fingertips danced across the keyboard as she altered her previous design based on the new information...As she watched, she could see the pieces coming together, the gaps being filled!

Whirling her chair around, Yume shouted. "Hishima!" The tall creature ducked his head into the room. Yume's expression was positively electric with creative glee - "Prep the main lab! I'm sending the finished design...We've got some work to do!" With a nod, Hishima left to fulfill his orders. Yume briefly turned back to the picture on her screen...

"...Thanks, Washu."


End file.
